To Further His Goals
by Blue Giraffe
Summary: Mewtwo and N learn that they are not very different at all. One-shot. Friendship fic.


_i._ N sat at the top of the Radio Tower, his legs innocently swinging over the edge. At sunset the Radio Tower was closed to visitors, but he had made friends with the guards up there, and after many promises that he wouldn't jump, they allowed him up there after closing.

In the distance he could see the swirling waves of the Whirl Islands, and to the south he could just make out the island that Cianwood City was on. The golden sun reflected off the waves in front of him, and the wind whistled through the leaves of the trees below. The spring air was refreshing, and it almost made him smile. Almost.

Johto was a beautiful place, he had decided. He had already explored it thoroughly, both on foot and by air, with his loyal partner Zekrom at his side. Many times he had tried to release the legendary dragon Pokémon, feeling that he was no longer worthy to be partnered with the legendary Pokémon, and each time Zekrom had refused. The last time he had tried, deep in Ilex Forest, he snapped Zekrom's Pokeball in two. He hoped that if the legendary Pokémon had nothing that tied him to N, it would just fly off and leave him alone, and end the guilt that plagued N every time he looked at the Pokémon. But the stubborn Pokémon put its nose to the two Pokeball halves, and after a bright flash, there was a perfectly intact Pokeball sat on the ground between them. It was as if the Pokémon was ignorant of what his mere being caused N to feel.

But no, he wasn't giving the Pokémon enough credit. Zekrom knew exactly what his presence did to N, and yet it continued to stay by N's side, coming out of its Pokéball where there were no other trainers around, yet stubbornly refusing to come out in the presence of others. It was Zekrom's refusal to meet other people and Pokémon that had forced N to befriend a lonely Mareep, who had willingly become N's only other Pokémon.

N had once had a full team of Pokémon, but he had left them in Unova shortly after he lost to Hilda and found out that his entire life was a lie. He had tried to release them, but they too refused to part with him. Instead, he had returned them to their Pokéballs and sent them to Professor Juniper, along with a short note explaining that although he didn't think he would be needing them anymore, one never knew what was going to happen in the world, and would she please take care of them until he returned, if he returned. Professor Juniper was a good woman and a better Pokémon Professor, and once she learned of his sad fate from Hilda, he knew that she would do exactly as he asked. Well, he didn't exactly know what she would do; but Hilda trusted her, and that was enough for him.

That lonely Mareep had since become his best friend, not unlike the Zorua he had in his youth. Not long after they met Mareep had evolved into a Flaafy whilst battling a particularly vicious Noctowl, and a few days ago Flaafy had made the finally evolution into Ampharos, who was currently dozing off beside N.

N played with Zekrom's Pokeball in his hand, rolling the small sphere around in his hand, playing with it between his fingers. He contemplated pressing the release button on the ball, wondering if they were secluded enough for Zekrom to be willing to come out. Although the Radio Tower was technically in Goldenrod City, it was on the western outskirts, connected to the city only by a narrow street and surrounded by the ocean on three sides. The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the bright horizon, and only a small portion of the waters were that brilliant gold that could almost compete with the sun's vibrancy.

When the sun had completely set, N started. He and Ampharos were no longer alone at the top of the Radio Tower. Another Pokémon had suddenly appeared, and N was clueless as to what Pokémon it might be.

* * *

><p><em>ii.<em> Mewtwo preferred to be alone. He had his clone Pokémon to look after, but they were safe around Mt. Quena, and they weren't really his, anyways. They had integrated with the wild Pokémon of their own species after his second encounter with Ash Ketchum, and many had already had offspring. But there were no other Mewtwos out there, none of his kind for him to find and settle down with. So Mewtwo continued, a nomadic Pokémon in the modern world, traveling from city to city. He didn't know what he was in search of, but he believed that if he ever found it, he would know it.

Some days he would hide outside the entrance to a Pokémon Center, listening to the thoughts of the Pokémon that entered with their trainers. Some were deeply loyal to their trainers, but just as many wondered if they would ever get strong beside their partner, if there was not a better place for them in the world somewhere.

It was these Pokémon that made Mewtwo lose faith in the friendship between people and Pokémon. However, just when his thoughts began to get too negative, he would remember the selflessness of that one boy, who had sacrificed his life once to stop the useless fighting between Pokémon that Mewtwo had caused, and later saved Mewtwo from certain death. Each time he had acted not because he would stand to gain anything from it, but because inactivity would have hurt him deeply. Mewtwo had to remember that there were truly good people out in the world, or else his sadness and anger would take him over.

Mewtwo also spent time in the Pokémon gyms, observing the Pokémon that belonged to the gym leaders and their disciples. The child-leader of Saffron, the twins of Hoenn, the over-the-top fashionista of Sinnoh, but only one, the leader in Ecruteak, had spoken to him. It happened several months before, and it was several weeks later that Mewtwo replied. Both Morty and Mewtwo were quiet, patient beings, and through their infrequent conversations they tentatively became friends.

Morty was the first human to encounter Mewtwo whose memory Mewtwo never tampered with. Though they never spoke of their pasts, they spoke of the present, of Pokémon, and of the special bond between Pokémon and their trainers. As a gym leader Morty could empathize with Mewtwo, having too often seen trainers who tried too hard with too weak Pokémon, and Pokémon who couldn't live up to their trainer's expectations, no matter how hard they tried.

They would inevitably be interrupted by another trainer challenging the gym, or one of Morty's loyal gym trainers coming to help close up the gym for the night. More than once Mewtwo had wished to continue their conversation, talk long into the night, but he knew that Morty had a young family to return home to, and that they could always pick up the conversation later. That was one of the things about Morty that made him bearable to Mewtwo: they could pick up a conversation days, or even weeks, later, and it was as if no time had passed.

In fact, just that day Mewtwo had been with Morty, who had told him about a young trainer named Gold whom he had battled just over a year ago. Mewtwo had never heard Morty speak with such admiration and detail about a challenging trainer, who was apparently quite similar to Ash Ketchum in spirit and determination. Then a teenager from Olivine had come in, seeking to challenge the leader for a badge, and Mewtwo teleported out of the gym before their battle even began.

Mewtwo teleported to what was perhaps his favorite place in Johto at that time of day, the top of the Radio Tower in Goldenrod city, not far from Ecruteak. He expected it to be empty, as it usually was, but he was surprised to find that it was occupied by a bored trainer who was playing with a Pokeball, his Ampharos fast asleep beside him. Mewtwo did not like surprises.

* * *

><p><em>iii.<em> Mewtwo would have moved on to an unoccupied spot, perhaps the roof of the Goldenrod Department Store, had it not been for the fact that the trainer had tensed, ever so slightly, when Mewtwo appeared. Mewtwo teleported silently, and wondered how the trainer had been alerted of his presence.

"Hello, there. You don't need to be shy around me." The human spoke to him in language of Pokémon, the way Pokémon communicated with one another. Mewtwo had learned the finer subtleties of the language over the years from talking with his clone Pokémon, but he had never met a human that spoke it.

_How can you speak like that?_ Mewtwo asked directly into the human's mind. He did not read into the human's memories, at least not yet, as he wished to see how the human explained himself.

The human, who had still not turned from facing the vista, said, "I was raised with Pokémon from birth. Sometimes I understand them better than I understand myself."

_You claim to understand Pokémon?_ Mewtwo was incredulous. Even the most understanding person he had ever met didn't even come close to understanding Pokémon.

N nodded slowly, sadly. "For a while, I believed that Pokémon would be better without humans. I thought that separating the two would allow Pokémon to be free, that it would allow them to grow into their potential and become perfect beings." He sighed. "My ideals, though… they were not perfect. They were not… true." His tone turned bitter. "I was shown the truth by a girl, a trainer whose Pokémon spoke to me in a way that none had ever before, not even my own. That girl and her Pokémon taught me about the loyalty and friendship that could form between Pokémon and humans, and showed me that the bonds between true partners would never fade willingly."

Mewtwo thought back to Ash Ketchum on New Island, chasing after his Pikachu after it was taken from him, fighting as hard as he could to get it back.

_You speak the truth. _Mewtwo said. _Pokémon can become strong alone, yes, but with a partner they love and trust they will become stronger than they ever could alone._

"And what is your story, you sad, lonely Pokémon?" N had turned around to face Mewtwo, his Ampharos still sound asleep beside him. "You talk of the strength a Pokémon has with a partner, but I do not believe that you speak from personal experience."

_My story is a sad one._ Mewtwo agreed. _It began many years ago, when I was created from a piece of DNA of the Pokémon Mew. I am Mewtwo, the stronger, smarter, genetically manipulated improvement of that ancient Pokemon. The human scientists did not know of my strength, or my growing fury of being immobile while they ran their tests without regard to their subject, me. I soon destroyed their lab, then, eager to exploit my newfound powers, teamed up with a man who promised me the world._

Mewtwo did not prod in the human's mind, but he did sense that he human had empathy for him, particularly with his last statement. Curious, Mewtwo continued.

_Giovanni said that we would rule the world together, yet he saw me as nothing more than the perfect tool to get him there. _

Giovanni… that name was familiar to N. He remembered Ghetsis talking about the other regions of the Pokémon world… Team Rocket…

_I grew to hate humans and the Pokémon that served them. I saw them not as equal partners, but as slaves to the humans who brainwashed them to obey their every command. Over time, I sought to create a new world in which there were only Pokémon, a world without humans where Pokémon could be free._

N let out a sharp bark of a laugh at the thought, at how this Pokémon's onetime goals were so similar to his own. They had both been brought up to believe something, then rebelled against it. By the way the story was going, though, N had realized the truth much later than Mewtwo had.

_You laugh?_ Mewtwo asked. _Do you find my story amusing?_

"I laugh," N said. "Because I find the fact that our stories are so similar amusing."

His voice took a more serious tone. "When I said I was raised with Pokémon, I was not lying. But these Pokémon had once been partners with the worst of trainers, ones who didn't care for them properly and hurt them and didn't understand what they really needed. So I grew to empathize with Pokémon more than I did with my own species, and slowly I grew to dislike, even hate humans.

"A man… I always thought he was my father, but he was no father to me… Ghetsis, he said he understood my feelings, said he agreed with me. He organized Team Plasma and crowned me their king, claiming that the organization's sole goal was to liberate Pokémon from humans. But he used me to further his own goals: he wanted Pokémon for his use and his use alone, for him to rule over the people of Unova. Although I didn't know this until the end, after it was all over, I had suspected something for a while…"

_Used to further another's goals…_ Mewtwo pondered aloud. _That is not unfamiliar to me._

_Giovanni used me, albeit in a weakened state, to capture Pokémon for his organization and to defeat any trainers that dared challenge his gym while he was working. I escaped his rule and fled to my birthplace, an island where I created a safe haven for the few Pokémon that were to survive my recreation of the world. I invited many strong trainers to the island, and created a storm to weed out the weak. In the end only five trainers arrived. I brought them there…_

"…as if daring them to stop you." N finished. He nodded. "I did the same thing to myself. Not long after I was crowned I took off on a journey across the region, wishing to explore my own relationship with Pokémon, as well as gauge the reactions of the citizens of Unova as Team Plasma unveiled their plans. In the first town we stopped in, I met a girl, Hilda, whose Pokémon loved her unconditionally, even though they had only been together a short while. I was astounded, and battled her there on the spot to get a better feel of her Pokémon's feelings, especially during a battle."

N couldn't help it; he smiled. "I didn't think it was possible, but her Pokémon were even more loyal during the battle. I didn't understand it.

"As she and I continued on our respective journeys across the region, we continued to bump into each other, and each time we battled. I was sure that one day I would battle her and her Pokémon would no longer feel anything towards her. I was sure that one day they would long to be free. I was wrong. Each time we battled, her Pokémon expressed such love for their trainer I began to doubt my motives.

"If we had succeeded in separating Pokémon from humans in the manner I dreamed of, Hilda and her Pokémon would have been separated. I could picture nothing more tragic."

N's Ampharos stirred and opened its eyes. He put his hand in its soft fur and scratched its neck. Small sparks of static electricity shot out of the fur, and Ampharos watched Mewtwo carefully.

"Each time we fought, I goaded her into trying to stop me. I told her of the only way to defeat me. I practically dared her to stop me." N smiled a sad smile. "I dared her to stop me, and she did."

_Out of the five trainers that made it to my island, only one truly cared for his Pokémon._ Mewtwo mused. _Distraught when I took their Pokémon, Ash was the only one who didn't give up, the only one who wouldn't accept defeat. He followed the captured Pokémon down to my laboratories, destroyed my machinery, and risked his life all for the sake of Pokémon. It wasn't supposed to go that far; but after he destroyed my cloning facility, he brought the original Pokémon back for one last stand. The fighting turned chaotic, Pokémon against like Pokémon, while I fought Mew, who I blamed the most for my presence on earth. He tried to stop the fighting but was caught in the middle, and it was his sacrifice that made me see the truth. He made me understand that not all humans are ugly, evil creatures, and that most humans don't view Pokémon as their slaves. _

_Ash Ketchum is the sole reason I gave up on my vision. I thought it would be better if no one remembered what occurred on my island, so I wiped the events from the mind of all present save me. It was at that time that Ash surprised me the most: he did not regret any of it. He didn't regret going to my island, battling his Charizard against my superior clone, not even running between two attacks and turning to stone. His saving grace were the Pokémon who, clone and natural alike, felt such sorrow at his fate that their tears returned him to normal. Not only did he love his Pokémon, but they loved him back. I have yet to meet another human like him._

"Do you see now, how we are not so different after all?" N asked softly. "We had grand plans for the world, and those we thought were helping us the most were in fact our greatest adversaries. We ended up hurting those we were trying to save, and in the end we were put in our places by two kids whose hearts were in the right places."

Mewtwo nodded in silent agreement. Everything N had said was true. Having nothing more to contribute to a conversation, Mewtwo turned away from N, thinking of where to teleport to next.

"Wait." N said. He was standing now, his Ampharos wide awake and upright beside him.

"I have enjoyed talking to you in this last half hour more than I have enjoyed anything else I have done since I left Unova." N said. "You are the only being, human or Pokémon, I have ever met that empathizes with my plight. I believe that I could learn a lot about myself and the world if we traveled together – no – if you allowed me to accompany you." N's formality from his upbringing would never go away completely.

_I prefer to travel alone._ Mewtwo said simply. _It serves me better to be tied to no one place or person for too long. _

N was clearly crestfallen at this news. _However, _Mewtwo added,_ I have a… tendency to seek out those with whom I can speak openly about my experiences, and I count you as one of the few that fall into that category. I promise you no regularity to our conversations, and if you would rather we never meet again I will honor your request._

"Conversation is a good start." N mused with a smile on his face. "For is conversation not the first step to friendship?"

* * *

><p><em>iv.<em> Mewtwo had always known that he was searching for something. He had come to realize he was looking for a true friend, someone who understood his plight and did no judge him by his past actions. Ash Ketchum never completely understand his motives, and Morty, although always a willing ear, sometimes got a glint in his eye that told Mewtwo he would never be completely trusted. N, however, understood his motives and had a dark past of his own. Both of them were looking for a brighter future, and Mewtwo could not help but feel that those futures were somehow intertwined.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well, this is my first published fanfic and I hope you liked it. Please review! You don't have to be nice, just don't flame._


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